Tag Archives: Community Newspaper Association of Victoria

Diary is ‘Best Newspaper’ again!

For the third successive year the Warrandyte Diary has claimed the title as Best Newspaper at the Community Newspaper Association of Victoria (CNAV) annual awards.

Diary stalwart Jock Macneish and his wife Di attended the awards and almost wore out their shoes in walking up to collect them on behalf of the Diary.

“It was a fantastic night and we were thrilled to be involved in so many awards, whether it be as a winner or finalist,” Jock said. “It’s a fabulous result for all of Warrandyte.”

We managed to win four of the nine awards, including Best Newspaper (2014-15-16), Best Sports Reporting, Best Feature Story (Sammi Taylor’s investigation of Lyme Disease) and Best Photograph (Bill Hudson-McAuley’s wonderful photograph taken at Ron Day’s funeral). We also finished as finalists in another three including Best Editorial Comment (editor Scott Podmore’s close look at social media in the local community), Best Design and Layout, and Best History Story (Living in the ’50s).

So what did the independent judges say about our work? Read on:

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Best Newspaper – Winner 

Warrandyte Diary

This entry wins because of its all-round appeal, combining excellent hard news with great photographs, an engaging front page, features and coverage of grass-roots events. Particularly notable was its strong hard news coverage on issues where accurate, current information for residents was paramount: including stories on a VicRoads bridge proposal, a plan to extend the M80 Ring Road and a VCAT hearing on a proposed new petrol station. These stories were well-crafted, relevant and strong, admirably answering the five golden questions of journalism: who, what, where, when and why. Clearly the stories were also being chased and followed up, demonstrating a drive to actively hunt for the news and report it, not just re-print a press release. This entry also stood out for an excellent feature on socal media and a comment piece adding context to a controversial planning amendment. The ‘Our Living Treasure’ column is a wonderful idea, in this edition profiling a local potter, a piece that illuminated the region’s rural past with lyrical humour. A top-notch sports section completed the picture. With minor quibbles, page designs were good: photos were used well, and headlines and sub-headings were appropriate and well-written.  All stories were well-crafted and edited with care.  A great example of a community newspaper with both heart and teeth.

Best Design and Layout – Finalist

Warrandyte Diary

The name ‘diary’ and the masthead are a lovely feel for a community newsletter, obviously including as many local people as possible. This newsletter is packed full of great articles which are easy to find and read. It resembles a newspaper which would encourage readers to have a look. The front cover is engaging with its big type drawing the reader in. I think the community would keep this newsletter and come back and back to read more.

Best editorial comment – Finalist

Warrandyte Diary – Scott Podmore

Care and concern for a serious local issue, well researched, well written, balanced.  A detailed, comprehensive, serious look at an important issue.  Well done!

Best Sports Reporting – Winner

Warrandyte Diary

The winning entry stood out for a number of reasons.

The front page photograph is a cracker and I loved the headline and the use of colour in the headline. The short sharp introduction draws readers into the extensive finals coverage inside.

The Warrandyte Diary’s spread on the grand final Triple Treat inside is a great read and the pictures and layouts are clean and first rate.

I also loved the double page spread of celebratory pics combined with the top 10 highlights of the match. This was a really innovative idea. The coverage indicates the writers and photographers spent considerable time and effort covering the matches and its fantastic they got reactions and responses from the people involved. It’s all about our local people and community after all.

The Warrandyte Diary has also devoted loads of space to a wide array of other sports and local achievers.

Best history story – Finalist

Warrandyte Diary

‘Warrandyte in the 1950s’ by Bill Hudson-McAuley

This is a snapshot of a town at a particular time – Warrandyte in the 1950s. Bill describes the town and the shops and the home delivery men – the baker, the milkman, the iceman and the dunny man (who collected not delivered!) and just the simple pleasures of growing up in a country town where children were encouraged to make their own entertainment. Lovely story.

Best feature story – Winner

Warrandyte Diary

‘Living with Lyme disease’ by Sammi Taylor

The winner was clear cut.

This was an extremely well written piece of investigative journalism. It was sensitively handled, beautifully structured and whole article was a gripping read from the first word to the last. This very important story is about Lyme disease not being acknowledged as a medical condition in Australia and details the pain and anguish being experienced by several Warrandyte residents with Lyme-like symptoms. Excellent work Sammi.

Best Photograph – Winner

Warrandyte Diary

‘One Beautiful Day’ – Photographer: Bill Hudson-McAuley

This is a very moving photo taken under challenging circumstances.  In covering a funeral the photographer has to strike a balance between being respectful and being present, perhaps even intrusive, enough to tell the story.  Shot from a discrete position that demonstrates respect for the grieving family, tightly framed to remove unnecessary detail, and carefully timed to capture Kianie’s hand in a final farewell to her grandad, this is a quiet and very touching image.

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Diary triumphs again

WARRANDYTE Diary has been named Newspaper of the Year for the second year in a row at the Community Newspaper Association Victoria (CNAV) annual conference and awards night on the weekend.

Diary editor Scott Podmore and one of our 45-year-old newspaper’s founding fathers Jock Macneish were there to enjoy the spoils at the Foothills Conference Centre in Mooroolbark after early conducting “community engagement” workshops for other community newspaper representatives from throughout the state.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for our Warrandyte community in particular,” Diary editor Scott said. “A community newspaper is only as strong as its community’s spirit and their willingness to come together to ensure the voice is strong in its local newspaper. We have so many great people who contribute whether they be volunteers, cadets, creatives, experienced writers and photographers or even those who put their hand up to deliver bundles of the paper to a pick-up point.”

“The Diary and the Warrandyte community are a force to be reckoned with. We know how lucky we are but it’s nice to be recognised like this. It’s a pat on the back for our people.”

From the nine CNAV awards the Diary featured in six, winning three and being a finalist (top 3) in three others, the same result as last year. As well as winning Newspaper of the Year, the Diary won for Best Layout and Design and Best Sports Coverage.

To win Best Sports Coverage is a real feather in the cap of our new sports editor Mikey Di Petta,” Scott said. “He’s a terrific kid doing a sports journalism course at university and he’s taken the reins of sport with confidence and enthusiasm. You only need look at our recent footy, tennis and netball coverage with all the flags they won. Well the Diary just bagged three flags tonight, too.

“As for the Best Layout & Design award – well that’s one we tuck away in our hearts, because that ackowledges the fantastic work of our dear little Rachel Schroeder who passed away earlier this year and also the equally as brilliant work of our new designer Hayley Saretta.”

The three finalists categories we featured in included: Best News Feature Story (Lara McKinley’s excellent coverage of eating local), Best Photograph (Bill Hudson-McAuley’s amazing ANZAC Day photograph of Ruben Harris-Allen), and Best Article By A Person 18 Years Or Younger (work experience local Sydney Lang’s first ever published story about 10 top things to do for winter was an absolute ripper!).

To add credibility to the Diary’s achievements, nine separate experienced newspaper industry judges were given the task of judging each of the nine CNAV awards. Their comments were:

 

Best Design and Layout – winner, Warrandyte Diary

Many large publishing companies would be proud of the standard achieved by the Warrandyte Diary. The design and layout hallmarks are maintained throughout this bright tabloid newspaper with professional placement of advertising, consistent headline fonts and appealing photos.  “For the community, by the community” is an appropriate slogan for this stand-out publication. Creative flair in design is reflected in every page.

 

Best News Feature Story – finalist, Warrandyte Diary

Eating Local – Is it possible? An appealing, inspiring package of words and pictures giving first hand experiences of eating only local food – info that residents can readily use to ‘eat local’ themselves.

 

Best Photograph – finalist, Warrandyte Diary

Ruben Harris-Allen. A very engaging image. Direct communication with the photographer at time of capture, translates to direct and strong communication with the viewer.  The subject is isolated from the background by both shallow depth of field and the beautiful warm side/top lighting.  Excellent technique in a challenging low light situation.

 

Best Sports Reporting – winner, Warrandyte Diary

The Warrandyte Diary was the standout to me. While it appears it may have a bigger budget then some other entrants I was impressed by its overall modern layout, fantastic eye-catching photos (particularly the emotion-charged shot of the dejected footballers which I thought was a really different angle from your usual action pic) and interesting and varied content about a wide range of local sport and achievers.

 

Best Article by a Person 18 years Or Younger – finalist, Warrandyte Diary

Top 10 things to do for the rest of winter by Sydney Lang. A clear, concise and colourful article to entice people to use their local neighborhood house, serving an important social function.

 

Best Newspaper – winner, Warrandyte Diary

Many big mainstream newspaper editors would be proud to say they produced a publication as professional as the Warrandyte Diary. Its layout can’t be faulted, the photos jump off the page, and there’s a great mix of news, sport and longer feature articles. It’s those articles that are a standout, so compelling that they sent me scrambling to the online editions to look for more.

Diary shines at awards

WARRANDYTE Diary was a proud finalist in six out of nine independently judged categories at the annual Community Newspaper Association of Victoria awards recently.

Living up to its motto of “for the community, by the community”, the Diary received a notable thumbs-up, winning the award for Best Community Content among others.

Seven newspapers were short-listed for this award, with three finalists selected against strict criteria: ownership; whether there was an invitation for community people to write; writers being named; variety of writers; type of content about community; whether the writing style seemed community or corporate based.

The Diary was also recognised for: Best Layout & Design (winner); Best Photo (finalist); Best Sports Coverage (finalist); Best News Feature (finalist), and the jewel in the crown – Best Newspaper (winner).

In choosing Warrandyte Diary as the winner in this category, the judge said:

“I was won over by this newspaper’s excellent understanding of its local community. It has a superb lay out with headings and sub-heads that perfectly fill the space, lots of good quality photographs and there is an abundance of life and colour in this 40-page paper.

“There’s a good mix of hard and soft news plus stacks of wonderful feature stories – everything from Australia’s most remarkable school through to a Warrandyte doctor talking about a birth drug breakthrough on the world stage and a well written and photographed feature by Bill McAuley about a local living treasure, Hugh McSpedden.

“It’s also great to see a newspaper that is not afraid to have some fun with a humorous ‘Over The Hills’ column on page 2 and the use of cartoons on several other pages. Throw in plenty of excellent opinion pieces, five pages of sport and an eight-page lift-out on the Great Warrandyte Cook Up (with the cutest mini-chefs you ever did see!) and it all makes Warrandyte Diary a worthy winner of this year’s Best Newspaper Award.”

Diary editor Scott Podmore described the win in last month’s edition as “a fantastic result, not only for our great little team, but all our contributors and the Warrandyte community that we serve”.

“It’s a really lovely way to cap my first year as editor of this newspaper, the communication hub of Warrandyte,” he said. “But I was obviously given an enormous head start and advantage on all the others, and that’s called the Cliff Green factor – the best part of 40 or so years of Cliff building the foundations and growing the best community newspaper in the world, let alone Victoria, and I’m merely steering the ship.”

Warrandyte Diary is one of more than 200 community newspapers regularly published in Victoria.

CNAV, the peak body that represents them, actively works with its members to enhance the capacity and standing of community newspapers in Victoria, and also seeks to raise their profile with all levels of government.

To advance its aim of fostering communication between the papers, the organisation hosts an annual conference, which administers the CNAV awards.

Financed solely through advertising, Warrandyte Diary at 44 years old is the longest continuously running community newspaper in Victoria.

Long may it serve…

(page 7, Warrandyte Diary, November 2014)